by Niraj Waikoo Detroit Free Press , USATODAY

by Niraj Waikoo Detroit Free Press , USATODAY

Egyptian-Americans and others with ties to Egypt watched Wednesday's tumultuous changes closely, as the military deposed President Mohammed Morsi.

Eight students with the University of Michigan who were studying in Egypt are being evacuated, say university officials.

Michigan has more than 4,000 residents with roots in Egypt, according to the U.S. Census. They have varying views on the situation in their homeland. The congregation at St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church in Troy is predominantly of Egyptian descent. And a mosque in St. Clair Shores, the Islamic Cultural Institute, has a sizable number of Egyptian-Americans.

Egyptian-American Christians in metro Detroit are generally wary of the Muslim Brotherhood and Morsi. Their spiritual leader in Egypt supported the anti-Morsi protests in recent days The lead pastor of the Troy church could not be reached Friday, but has expressed concern before about the Brotherhood.

Shereef Akeel, a Troy attorney of Egyptian descent, said it's "unsettling that we're seeing a person who was elected being asked to step down.

"But being under a 30-year dictatorship (under Mubarak), the people are very conscious and very sensitive to any effort by any leader to usurp their rights in any way."

"What we're witnessing is an expression of the will of the people," Akeel added. "What we have is people who are assembling and exercising their freedom of speech and expression ... expressing their disapproval of how things are."

The seven undergraduates and one graduate student from the U-M in Egypt will be escorted from American University in Cairo residence hall, where they've been staying, according to Kim Coyne, senior adviser for international health, safety and security in the Office of the Provost.